VFX Sumo appoints new members on board

Sumo appoints new members on the board

Sumo Group PLC and Sumo Digital,  respectively announced the appointments of co-founder Darren Mills as director of excellence and integration, and the promotion of Jim Woods to studio director of Sumo Sheffield, one of Sumo Digital’s seven UK studios.

Sumo Group COO Paul Porter said, “I’m delighted to announce two new senior appointments. It is vital, as we continue to grow and integrate new businesses and studios into the Group, that we constantly keep our culture, policies, processes and practices under review.  This ensures they are aligned to support our growth and remain fit for purpose both for the Group and for our people. To this end, I am pleased to confirm that Darren Mills will be taking up the role of ‘director of excellence and integration’.  As a co-founder of Sumo, Darren is the perfect

Sumo Group director of excellence and integration Darren Mills

candidate to add value and make an impact in this important role within the Group. It is testimony to the strength of our management team that we can replace Darren with Jim Woods. Jim worked with Sumo for over a decade before joining the company in 2017. His experience and pragmatism have put him in great stead to lead our largest studio.”

Following the rapid growth of Sumo Group’s studios, which now stand at 10 across the UK, India, and Canada, co-founder Darren Mills’  new appointment joins the director of education partnerships as Jacob Habgood  and learning and development manager as Jenny Mulhwa, who were appointed in January for strengthening the company’s commitment to its staff.

Sumo Group director of excellence and integration Darren Mills, says,“This new, key role allows us to focus on our values and goals, enabling us to effectively action change and make Sumo Group studios some of the best places to work in the industry.  I’ll be leading a broad range of projects, delving into the detail of what it’s like to work at Sumo and how that experience can improve.”

Sumo Sheffield studio director Jim Woods

In addition to that Jim Woods, has been promoted as the studio director at Sumo Sheffield. Woods initially joined the company in 2017, and started out as senior development director. He went on to become production director and now as a studio director.

He says,”I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to run Sumo Sheffield. Darren has done a fantastic job for the past four years, and I hope to build on that success moving forwards.The combination of talented people and exciting projects will allow Sumo Sheffield to showcase the quality of games we are capable of delivering and further enhance the strong reputation that each of our studios enjoy in the games industry.”